Beverly Sterl Bender (January 4, 1918 – August 13, 2012) was an American sculptor. Born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, Bender received her bachelor's degree from Knox College and studied sculpture at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

, the Sculpture Center, and the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

she worked in testing for

Chance-Vought Vought was the name of several related American aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought-Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace (part of Ling-Temco-Vought), Vought Aircraft Companies, and Vought Ai ...

, and later spent thirty-two years in the art department of Johns-Manville; she created miniature models of children at first in her off-hours before turning to the sculpture, in stone, of animals. She exhibited widely throughout the United States during her career, and served on the boards of the Society of Animal Artists, the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, and the Pen and Brush Art Club; she also belonged to the American Artists Professional League and Knickerbocker Artists. She received a number of awards from a variety of organizations during her career, including an Alumni Achievement Award from her alma mater, in 1978. Her work can be seen in a number of private collections and at Mystic Seaport. Bender's preferred medium was stone, and her preferred subject was animals. A number of student awards at Knox College, endowed by her, bear her name.

References

1918 births 2012 deaths American women sculptors Animal artists 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American sculptors 21st-century American women artists Artists from Washington, D.C. Knox College (Illinois) alumni Art Students League of New York alumni Sculptors from New York (state) {{US-sculptor-stub